Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton looked stunning this week as she hit the town for a gala dinner at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

The Duchess looked every inch the royal in a floor-length pink and white Gucci gown.

Kate, who is a patron of 100 Women in Finance's Philanthropic Initiatives, attended the Gala Dinner in aid of Mentally Healthy Schools.

Gorgeous in Gucci. Picture: APSource:AP

Pretty in pink. Picture: APSource:AP

Check out those guns! Picture: GettySource:Getty Images

Once inside, she took to the stage to deliver a speech at the dinner:

Delivering her speech. Picture: GettySource:Getty Images

Earlier in the day, the Duchess donned a tweed-like two-piece to attend The Royal Foundation's 'Mental Health in Education' conference at Mercer's Hall in London. While there, she listened to a number of sessions, including one on the benefits of integrating mental health modules into teacher training courses, and another on the role of school leaders in creating a culture of wellbeing.

Out and about: Kate earlier in the day. Picture: MATRIXPICTURESSource:Matrix

It’s a subject close to her heart: Before she was the Duchess of Cambridge, Middleton endured a dark, torturous and lonely childhood, her former friends have said.

When she was just 13 years old, Kate’s parents Michael and Carole Middleton abruptly pulled her out of the all-girls boarding school Downe House she attended at a cost of £28,875 (AU$52,000) because she was being mercilessly bullied.

Kate’s focus on mental health and anti-bullying charities is said to stem from her own difficult childhood. Picture: MATRIXPICTURESSource:Matrix

After years of nastiness, classmate Jessica Hay said in an interview with The Sun newspaper she had been left an “emotional wreck” and developed the skin condition eczema due to stress.

Despite it being much further from her family home, Kate enrolled at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. A classmate at her new prestigious school, Gemma Williamson, told the Daily Mail that Kate “had very little confidence”.

“Apparently she had been bullied very badly and she certainly looked thin and pale,” Ms Williamson said.